Page 11 of Memories Like Fangs
“Okay?”
“Okay. We’ll take her wherever you want.”
Byrd’s brows furrowed. “How? What about your family? And Christmas?”
“Fuck them. They don’t matter right now.”
“But—”
I kissed Byrd on her lips, swallowing any rebuttal that she might have said. If things were lighter and different right now, I would have teased her about questioning me, but that wasn’t what my girl needed. She needed softness, gentleness, and stability. I hoped that my kiss was enough to show her how much of a steady ground I was for her to land.
When we parted, I pressed our foreheads together. Our breaths mingled as I said, “Haven’t I proven enough to you how much you matter to me? My family will be okay.Youneed me right now, okay?”
Tears made her brown eyes dazzle. “You are too good to me. I love you so much, Quinn.”
“I love you so much more, Byrdie.” I kissed her again. “We’re going to get your mom out of here, okay? But, we are going to need some backup.”
I went to stand up, but Byrd grabbed my wrist. Her scales rippled across her skin as her eyes widened in sudden distress. “Wait, please don’t leave me, Quinn. I can’t be alone right now. Not in here.”
“Now, who said anything about me leaving, baby girl? You are going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me,” I said, winking.
Byrd smiled.
I helped both of us get off the floor. Once we were standing, Byrd seemed woozy on her feet, so I pulled her in close to me to lean on. She wrapped her arms around my waist and held me tight.
I would happily be her pillar, her anything.
I pulled out my phone then and scrolled until I found Simone’s contact. She interrupted the second ring to answer.
“Quinn! Oh, my gods!” Simone’s voice was breathless and urgent, yet full of relief. “Are you okay? Did you find Byrd? Your family is freaking the hell out right now, they are so worried about you.”
“I’m fine and so is Byrd. Are you next to Maisie right now?”
“Yes, she’s right next to me?—”
“I need you and her to come upstairs to Byrd’s location. She needs?—”
Before I could even finish my sentence, I saw a flash of glittery purple out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw Simone and Maisie standing in the doorway of the office. Simone didn’t even wait for the glitter from the magic to disperse before she ran into the room. Byrd untangled herself from me to meet her halfway in an embrace.
“Byrdie! Oh, my gods, we weresoworried about you after you didn’t come back downstairs. Y’all were up here for so long!” Simone’s melodic voice with her slightest Southern twang was muffled through Byrd’s locs. She wasn’t that much taller than Byrd, but the difference was apparent when they were this close to each other.
“I’m so sorry to have made you both worry!”
“Hey, don’t you apologize! As long as you’re safe, Byrdie-Bee, that’s all that matters.” Simone squeezed her closer. As they held each other, I felt affection and fondness for her friends radiate through the bond. It made me smile seeing them together. Aside from when she was with me, Byrd always seemed at her easiest and most carefree around her friends. It made them good people in my book.
Maisie still stood in the doorway, her over six-foot frame towering over me and making her head almost touch the topof the door threshold. Unlike her other best friends, Maisie was Japanese-American instead of being Black. Additionally, instead of being a shifter, she was a witch-fae. Currently, her face was a perfect mixture of shock, pain, and disgust as she looked around the office. Her usually dark-brown-almost-black eyes were currently such a dark purple that the normal human eye wouldn’t have been able to notice it.
“Wh-what is this place?” Maisie asked. “There’s an insane amount of power here, but it feels so…dark.”
“Wait, you can feel it, too, Maze?” Byrd asked over Simone’s shoulder just before they pulled back from each other.
“Feel what—?” Simone did her own survey of the room, and then her jaw dropped. “Holy shit. Are those—? I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start.”
“I’ll fill y’all in.” Byrd took Simone’s hand and squeezed it. “But first, I want to know what Maisie is feeling. What do you sense, Maisie?”
“Strong dark magic. It’s powerful. It’s like the blood witch-fae, but… different.”
Byrd shivered at the mention of the blood witch-fae even in passing. At the same time, Byrd’s scales rippled down her skin yet again, like her dragon rebelling against the very existence of the blood fitch. She asked. “Different how, exactly?”
